Burning Desire
by collegebookgirl
Summary: My hands are on your hips, your name is on my lips, over, and over again, like my only prayer. Two can play at this game. I've got a burning desire for you baby.
1. Remorse

A/N: Hello there, Legend of Korra fandom! How are you all? I just finished the first season last night, and I about died, so I decided to write (I can't wait for the second season, hopefully fan fiction can hold me over). I have loved Avatar: The Last Airbender since I was a child, and I'm older now, it's been about seven years since I saw the first episode, so I thought I'd just contribute to the fandom I've been in love with for years.

I don't want to say reviews equal chapters, but reviews do propel me to write faster, and depending on the success of this first chapter, I may continue it, or wait a while to update. I just need feedback, ya know? Ya feel me?

This story was inspired by Lana Del Rey's song "Burning Desire."

* * *

There's something about the way her hair falls over her face when she sleeps. Like the grass I used to run in as a child, it sways and moves as she breathes. Something about the way the sun shines through our curtains, and the way I want touch her so, so bad, but I can't, something about these wooden floors, and the frozen water outside our little room. Something about her pulls me forward, a desire I've never felt before.

I mean, it consumes me. And like a fucking moth to a flame, I walk forward into emotion I don't know how to handle. I'm a selfish man, and she's a desired woman. Between the neighbors, Tenzin, my brother, and the world — I don't know how I manage to share her. But, I guess I have no choice, so I just continue. I mean, I shouldn't complain. I knew what dating the Avatar would entail. But, again, I'm selfish. I want her to myself — in moments like these — where she's in_ my_ bed, wearing _my_ nightshirt — it's a very masculine and territorial thing, that I'm sure if she knew she'd have my balls.

But she's just so fucking beautiful. I lightly run the pads of my callused thumbs over her eyelids and they move rapidly beneath my skin — deep in sleep. And this shirt she has on — too much, and too little all at the same time — the way it settles over her hips and the way it bunches at the back. The way her chest rises and falls, and the way I have to force my eyes away because I know if I look to hard, I'll start calling them breasts, and not just her chest.

And like, goddamnit, I did it again.

This lust that has been consuming me for the past couple of weeks, I don't know how to handle it. I want to tell my body,_ stop, calm yourself, you're not twelve anymore_. But my body never listens. I mean, I'm a fire bender, I'm used to the heat. I live off the sun and I live off the constant spark beneath my skin. But this heat that shoots straight from my heart to my dick and completely ignores my head is starting to get out of hand.

I turn against the scratchy cotton sheets, and face the ceiling instead of my beautiful girlfriend beside me. I wish there were designs or some shit like that, because there is nothing to look at except the stark white, and the small chandelier in the center. And it's not like a fancy one either, the more I've come to look at it. It's classic Southern water tribe wood, — simple, and no bullshit.

Just like my girl.

See? This is my problem. Every thought I have somehow gets traced back to her. It's like a disease, a chronic issue that I apparently can't handle. I push my palms to my eyes and try to clear my eyes of the images. I guess it's not a problem if you look at it innocently enough — I think about my girlfriend a lot. Not a problem, you know? She's gorgeous, perfect, kind, and caring, who the fuck can blame me?

But it's the fact that I literally can not stop thinking about her body, her smell, and how soft her hair is after a bath, or how smooth the skin at her thighs are. It's a problem when I get too physical, and lack the emotion. Bolin says that I have way too much emotion, and I guess I can agree with that — I've been serious and moody since I was a child. But these new things like lust, desire, and wanting every male in the room to know Korra is mine — it's getting out of hand.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and put my elbows to my knees and palms to my eyes. I mean, fuck, can I just be a normal human being for two fucking minutes? I stand up and try not to move the bed, and I don't look back over my shoulder even though every fabric of my body is screaming to turn back and look, look, make sure she's there, breathing, in my clothes.

So I force my feet to push forward into the tiny bathroom of my bedroom. Korra decided she wanted to move back to the Southern water tribe, and after hearing Katara wasn't in the best health conditions, so we decided to move back here for the time being. We've been here for about a month, and Korra has spent every night in my room, claiming hers is too empty. I'm not complaining though, I love it when she curls in beside me once she hears everyone is asleep. The way she'll sneak out before everyone wakes in the morning.

But that's the problem. I don't want her to be a secret. I want everyone to know she's in my room at night, that I'm the one who protects her when she is unconscious. People know we're together. We don't kiss in secrecy, or hold hands to ourselves. But this primal thing wants to claim her, make her body mine and make it curve into my touch.

I shut the door to the bathroom and start to run the water, knowing it will take a good while before it heats up. So I look in the mirror and pull on my unruly eyebrows, and look at the way my nose is still kind of crooked to the left after my first fight at eight years old. I look at my scarred hands that I try so hard to cover up, because they are evidence of a fight, a battle I lost.

I don't know how long I stand there, but when the mirror starts to fog up, I know I need to hop in so I do, and the water should be a horrific shock from the cold I was just standing in, but all it does is soothe my muscles, and make me feel the heat I have in my heart. I feel dirty sometimes after what I do in the shower.

I mean, sometimes I'm sad that Korra leaves every morning from my bed, but a part of me is glad, because how can I face her after imagining her naked, moaning, and sweaty. I mean, I'm a fucking dirty bastard. I let my hand go where it needs to, and I just think of her this morning. Her lower back, the dimples there, and the dip it makes. Her tan skin that looks like desert sand, and creamy chocolate. I bet she tastes as sweet as her skin looks. She'll taste like water, cherry blossom cake, and passion tea.

And when she moans it's not like Asami's or the other fan girl's moans. It'd be distinctive, like the my scars. Defined, and rough, sweet, and smooth. Just like her personality. She'll moan my name _"Mako. Mako. Mako."_ and I'd push forward and feel her wrapped tight around me like heat, and the fire that I push with my hands.

I come undone quick and childish, like a little boy. But that's what this woman does to me. She makes me unravel, and fall apart, like string, and unknowing like a bird from a nest. I want to pull myself together, but there's something about this desire that makes me desperate to please.

I step out and warp a towel around myself. It's cold and icy, so I dry off quickly, running my fingers through my hair, trying to get it to stay put like it's supposed to. I get fed up quickly and just close my eyes and try to calm down. It's so fucking complicated when it should be so simple. I mean, Amon's dead, I'm with the girl of my dreams, she's safe, Bolin and I are stable. But there's something about this unquenchable thirst. I mean, I just fell apart in the shower, I should be able to handle the next day, but I feel bound and complicated.

I pull the door open, and when I look up, Korra is staring at me, her hand on the doorknob, and the sun is still trying to peer it's way through the blinds, to catch a glimpse of this gorgeous girl. I wish she would say something, anything, because I'm kind of afraid that she heard my moans, and somehow, my thoughts. But, I'm just paranoid 'cause I thought her naked and bare, and here she is in my t-shirt with, ah hell, no undergarment on. Like, really? Really?

"Mako," She breathes, eyes on my torso. And I know I should feel maybe modest, or some shit like that, but all I feel is my chest swelling up in pride. She thinks I'm attractive, and she likes it.

"You leaving?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says and let's go of the handle. She turns toward me and I look down quickly to catch a glimpse of her bare feet, toes small, skin tan, and I my eyes travel quickly over her legs before I get carried away, and back up to her face. She's smirking now, and I know she saw that glance I gave her. I wonder if she still thinks this is innocent flirting, because if she just felt a quarter of what I feel for her, she would probably never look in my direction again.

As she takes her hand off the doorknob, it travels to my wrist, and then I'm on _fire, fire, fire_. I want to breathe this heat out, I can't contain it anymore, I feel like I'm detonating from the inside out. Her fingers trace desire up my arm to my elbow where she grabs the crease, and applies pressure to my vein there. I feel the blood slow, and it's pulse; bum, bum, bum.

She's still smirking as she pulls my shoulder down to her level. I know what she wants, and like some well-trained slave, I close my eyes and start our kiss at the upper corner of her mouth. She tastes like fucking toasted marshmallows, and ton of other delicious shit I can't begin to describe. She parts her lips and I move my mouth so it rests just above hers. I hover there for a second, and I know it's killing her because she sort of whines, and then slams her mouth onto mine.

I laugh in my chest, because this is what I love about her the most: her impatience, her lack of control with me. She's like a predator, and I will willingly serve as her prey. I don't open my mouth at all in the kiss. I want her to just stay still and kiss me with a closed-mouth kiss because that's about all I can handle at the moment, considering I'm in a fucking towel.

And I guess the spirits are watching out for me because she presses her lips more forcibly onto mine one last time, and then pulls away with a smirk.

"Bye, Mako. See you at breakfast," She turns away and I close the door behind her and hold onto my towel at the same time. This isn't some problem that happened overnight. Every time I kiss her, smell her, I get turned inside out, my body open, and exposed. She's so fucking hot.

So I walk over and throw on my clothes, and boots. I drape my scarf across my shoulders, around my neck, and look in the mirror one last time. I mean, what am I doing? I'm probably going to go to breakfast and have Asami be moody as shit, as usual. And Tenzin, who I'm pretty sure knows something's up, but believes ignorance is bliss so says nothing. And then there's Bolin who's just pure ignorant. And then Korra, who either thinks nothing's wrong with me, or defiantly knows something's up figuratively, and literally.

So I walk out of the room and put my fucked up hands in my pockets, and walk down the hall and pass everyone's room. Bolin's not in his, the door is open and he has probably already started stuffing his face. Korra's door is closed, I know she's getting ready, and then I pass Asami's room. Her door is slightly ajar and I turn over and see her slipping on her shirt over her chest and as a man, I guess it should stir something inside my body, because let's face it, Asami is beautiful. All angles and soft edges, and big eyes. I mean, I felt like a king when I was with her.

But I don't feel anything now. I feel like I just saw a woman half naked, and she should have probably shut her door, but it doesn't surprise me that Asami is doing this. She's been doing shit like this for awhile now, being promiscuous and desirable. I know it's not for me, thank the spirits.

General Iroh, though.

It surprised me first. I mean, the first time I saw them they were under the lamppost outside our apartment. All lips, heat, and tongue. I didn't feel jealous though, not in wanting Asami. I was jealous because I wish I could man up and handle my tensions like a man and be able to kiss Korra like Iroh could Asami.

Being with a woman isn't foreign to me. I've had a woman in my bed before and I've had sex. But I've never felt inside out — raw, and shattered — like I do with Korra. Because she's not just a fan girl or a seductive woman. She's the love of my life, the reason I breathe, and the Avatar.

So I can't just sleep with her, because I know she's never done that with anyone before, and to be honest, I don't want to force anything on her when she's not ready. That would be the worst. So I walk around with x-rated thoughts, and desires for a girl who probably doesn't know what she's doing to me when she sticks her tongue in my mouth.

"Good morning, Mako," Tenzin says, sitting at the table. I enter the room and watch the grief that sits on the wise Monk's shoulders.

"Good Morning, Tenzin. Any news on Lady Katara's health?"

"I'm afraid not," He says sipping his tea and eyeing his children around him. I sit down next to the young boy and grab food. "She's stabilizing, but will be getting progressively worse."

Katara's health came to a hault one day. We don't know why, or what happened she just was ill, and got so bad she almost became catatonic. So we all traveled from Republic City where we were naturalizing the government, to the Southern water tribe.

I look over across from me where Bolin sits, finishing probably his second plate of food. If there's one thing my brother's god at, it's eating.

"Good morning, Korra!" Bolin shouts, food spraying everywhere. I give him a look and he looks back.

"Morning, Bolin. How are you?" She sits down next to me and I just become hyperaware of everything going on around me. I don't know when my body decided to become a little bitch all of the sudden, but now I'm aware of Korra and her muscles, and hard lines, and I want to lick her collarbone. Like, legitimately, I have an issue.

"Great! These water scones are delicious! You should try them!"

"If you'd stop eating them all, maybe she could," I say sickly. Korra playfully slaps my arm and turns to Bolin.

"I'm okay, Bolin. You enjoy," Like, how selfless can she get? She's a prophet. "How's Katara, Tenzin?" She turns to the Monk.

"As I was telling Mako, she's stabilizing, but her heath is diminishing. I'm concerned for her this upcoming week with the cold front coming in."

"Avatar Aang will watch over her," Korra responds.

"I agree," Tenzin says regrettably, and turns back to his food. With that, the conversation is over and Korra turns to me and scoots closer until our crossed legs are touching. I mean, ugh.

"Do you want to go out today, Mako? We could go to the springs," She asks. I look down at her, the excitement in her eyes — the prospects of going to her favorite childhood spot making her giddy. The simplest things make her happy.

"Sure babe," I smile down at her and wrap my hand around her hair and bring her closer so I can kiss atop her head. My fingers are tangled, and woven, and I want to grab roughly, this animalistic thing aching inside me.

But I let go, and turn back to my food and eat. Bolin is starting his third serving, and we hear the door slide open, and I know it's Asami because her boots are stiletto high, and noisy. I hear the deep bass of Iroh's boots as well and I am so full of jealously I can't see straight. I close my eyes and try to calm down because I'm a grown fucking man, but all I see is red.

I mean, they probably just had great morning sex, and I'm here, with a girl I don't want to make love with, but want to all at the same time. I mean, she doesn't know anything, how can I possibly know if this is what she wants, when she doesn't even know what she needs yet?

I just want to slam my head against the table 'cause I'm just a fucked up sex-crazed man, when I should be worried about Katara, and the silent Equalist activity, and the world. But no, I just want to make love to Korra slowly, and passionately into the night. I mean, damn.

Korra finishes eating, and I know I haven't finished my food but I grab her hand and we leave the despair of Tenzin, the boyish nature of Bolin, and the two lovebirds.

"Are you okay?" Korra asks. "You were quiet today at breakfast."

"I'm fine," I say with a smile down at her. "Just upset about Katara," I am upset. It's a sign of a generation lost, and a message to ours that our time has begun. We're ready for the responsibility, I know we are. But, something deep in my heart tells me that we're still just children. I've aged a lot in my twenty years, in the streets you were forced to grow up fast, and survive, or else that city would swallow you whole.

But, It's not just me and Bolin anymore. It's Iroh, Asami, Naga, Tenzin, and Korra. I can't afford to be selfish anymore. It's my heart on the line.

The air is cold and harsh outside, but the sun is bright and I feel my body soak it up like it's supposed to. Korra's warm fingers weave though mine, and she presses her body slightly behind mine, protecting herself from the cold and collecting body heat. I'm so strung up on her I want to grab her hips and press mine flush up against hers.

Instead I walk forward towards Naga, and just clutch Korra's hand like it's a lifeline.

"Hey there, girl," Korra croons and let's go of my hand. The lack of contact is making me want to pout like a little bitch. I watch as she swings her body over the polar animal, and I eye the way her back curves, all muscle and spine, and I swing my leg over Naga, and wrap my arms around Korra's waist.

"I like it when you grab me," She murmurs, and I want to go back, have her repeat it for me, because she only says shit like this once and awhile. Instead of saying something back I move my hands so they grab her hips and I know it hurts, but my girl likes it rough — which is part of my problem — so she just moves Naga into movement, and with every move forward we go, her backside presses up against me.

And this is my problem, see? It's like I seem to have the upper hand on some occasions, but my body betrays me and makes me all boy and no man. So I just grab her hips more and try to get her to stay in place. This was never a problem before. I mean, we've ridden on Naga together all the time, but recently these rides have become both pleasurable and hated all at once.

I like them because I'm close to my girl, but I hate them because I am forced to sit through agony and behave like an good little boy. All I want to do is swing her around, it's be so easy too. Just straddle her across my lap, wouldn't be anything new. But this time I'd thrust upward.

Like, damnit, I did it again.

We're traveling fast and we aren't slipping or sliding, Naga's paws having been made for this cold climate. So we continue forward in our destination, and in the distance I see the one spring in the Southern water tribe. It's small, made for small groups, and I imagine a little Korra slipping and sliding on the ice, into the water. It brings a smile to my face.

We come to a stop and hop of Naga. Korra grabs my hand and eagerly pulls me forward, she's so excited. She makes me run to the edge of the water and let's go of my hand, and I peer down into the dark pool of water.

"Heat it up," I hear behind me. I turn and watch as Korra strips. My mouth is falling open, I know it.

"Wh- What?" I stutter. Come on man, grow up.

"Heat it up," She says more slowly, as if talking to a child. She takes off her jacket and her pants and then she's in her undergarments, and like, fuck, they're lace and shit. No white, or bindings. Just lacy and, ah hell, I'm staring again. "Come on Mako," She says "I'm getting cold here."

The last thing I want is a frostbitten, hypothermic girlfriend, so I bend down on my knees and lower my hands so they barely skim the water, and push the heat from my body into the water. And it feels like a release this fire bending. Maybe because I know what's going to happen, or because I know that she's half naked, but something about this — bending the icy water — is making me release all my tension. I heat it up quickly, making it a little hotter than normal because I know it will cool down very quickly.

I turn to where I think she is standing, but all I see is a flash of tan skin, and dark hair, and then Korra dives into the water, smooth and angelic. I watch her swim through the water for a short while, showing off how long she can hold her breath, and watch as she swims to the surface.

"You coming in, hot stuff?" She smirks at me. And I should stop now, go back, and meditate and try to control this, because I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what she's doing to my body. But being the hot-blooded male that I am, I accept this challenge and start to take off my jacket slowly.

"Yeah, babe, give me a moment."

Two can play at this game.


	2. Redemption

I love you all, thank you for reading and all of the support. I hope you enjoy this journey I'm creating. I'm just a girl with a bunch of ideas, and your reviews and follows let me know that I'm not wrong in writing them down. It's nice to know other people love these characters just as much as I do, and want to see their life unfold.

Reviews equal faster chapters, so how about not being shy, and dropping me a message? :)

I mean, I'll love y'all more than I already do. I'll love you like Mako loves Korra (see what I did there?).

* * *

If I'm a smart motherfucker like I think I am, I would turn around. I wouldn't be smirking at Korra as she floats above the water, and I most defiantly wouldn't be trailing my hands to the collar of my shirt. I mean, fuck, I should turn around now, and stop, but the idea of making this girl stir crazy with my body is all so tantalizing.

I want her to feel half of what I feel, hell, even a quarter. So, like the sex-crazed man that I am, I undo my scarf and let it fall to the floor. I hear it caress the snow, and I know she hears it too because I see her swallow slowly. She's still acting nonchalant, so I decided to up the ante.

My fingers drift to my neck and I scratch the stubble there, and I know it's not customary or in fashion for Republic City's men to have a shadow across their face, but Korra likes it, so I keep it. I mean, when we kiss heavily on my bed, she'll deliberately draw her cheek across mine just to leave a mark.

So I undo the first button, and watch as she lowers her legs and splays her arms about in the now warm water.

"You watching?" I ask. Fuck, where did that come from?

Her head shoots up and her eyes narrow on my hands that undo the buttons and her eyes narrow, and turn black as my shirt drops to the floor. And I know I'm getting hard, and like damnit, can I just play it cool for once? Even with the chill factor below zero my body has a way of betraying me.

"I'm watching," She says huskily.

And then all of the sudden I'm tired of this slow torture I'm putting us through. I want to be in that water and press my body flush against hers. I want to press my hips against hers and feel all the heat wrapped around me like a vice.

I pull my undershirt over my head, and I'm bare from the waist up. I want to take off my boots slowly but I end up taking them off hastily, and in a rush. But then they're next to my scarf and jacket and all that's left is my pants. All of the sudden I feel like I'm fourteen again, and Lee-Ann is staring at me and pointing at my dick, and laughing.

But, I'm not a pre-pubescent teen anymore. I'm twenty fucking years old and a fire bender. This shouldn't be a problem, but it is, because Korra is so goddamn beautiful and soft, and I'm all cut lines, and wanting her so bad I can't keep it in my pants.

But this part of me — the one I can't control — speaks to me in Korra's voice and says _take them off. _So like a well trained dog, I undo my pants and lift up my legs and pull them off, and throw them to the side. And, like some huge fucking weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I inhale a gulp of air, and dive headfirst into the water.

The deeper I go, the colder, and darker it gets. And I feel so calm and less like a monster of my desires. I swim forward and stretch my arms out ahead of me and I feel a wall of cool ice against my fingertips, and I exhale the warm air inside me and let my body float upwards against the icy wall. My torso brushes the cold and I feel like I'm suffocating and living all at the same time. I gasp for air as I break the surface, and shake my hair out of my face. I turn and Korra is watching me.

I lick my lips, and nod my head at her.

"You coming, babe?" I ask. I know Korra loves this derogatory talk. I mean, when we're alone. When there's no doubt in her mind that it's just me and her.

She puts her mouth and nose under the water, and lowers her gaze; a predator and prey look, that's what she gives me. And she's all eyes, and I'm all but willing to stare. And the she sinks herself into the water. And then I can't see her and I'm shot into a panic, but I know she's swimming my way so I close my eyes and imagine what she'll do. I mean she could trail her dainty hands up my legs, she pull me forwards with the water to wear she sits underwater. So many fucking scenarios, that don't live up to the reality.

Like stealth she pulls up in front of my body, pressing, pressing, pressing, in all the right places, and I want to moan, and I don't know how I swallow it, I practically choke on it, and then all of the sudden she's bobbing in the water in front of me.

Eyelashes dark, and wet, open, and wide. And she's smiling with full lips that I want to kiss so badly, and I watch her as she breathes in icy air, and sits warmly in warm water that I heated with my hands, and I want to grab her and let her sit on my lap, but I force my arms to stay at their sides.

She does something though; something from my imagination, something from my selfish dreams. She leans forward and presses her full breasts to my chest and I feel her nipples, hard though her undergarment, and then her mouth is at my ear, and like a fucking siren, she blows cool breath behind my ear to wear my skin meets my hair and it's like, goddamn, can I get a break? I'm trying to withhold here.

"I'm here, babe," She croons, and I'm hard and horny all at once and I close my eyes and lick my lips — like maybe that will help, but no — and then she presses her hips forward, and brushes my dick.

Where. Did. That. Come. From.

So, you can't blame me when I take my hot hand from the water and trail it up her soft skin, and you can't blame me when I wrap it around the hair at the nape of her neck and push her face closer to my neck, feel her smile slow spread across her face.

"What are you going to do with me, now that you have me?" She kisses, soft, against my pulse point, like a whisper. I turn my head downwards — relenting in my effort to stay strong — and nuzzle her neck in the process.

"I don't know," I answer truthfully. Like, seriously, what the fuck?

"I know what I want to do," She says, and bucks her wet heat onto my hips.

"Korra —" I sputter and push my hips backwards so my back presses itself into the icy wall.

"Mako," She says, mockingly.

"We can't —" I say, and I can't continue because Korra is kissing my neck. "I mean — we have to — Korra," I'm like a teenager, trying to formulate thoughts, and words, but all men when I say my hips lurch off the side of the ice and press into Korra's willing heat.

"We don't have to do anything," She says.

I feel something then. Something between pain and an unmanageable amount of pleasure, and I feel something moving inside of me, and then I hear Korra moan. It's not like I did anything. I'm sitting here with a tent in my pants, and trying to calm my pubescent-ass body.

"You taste so fucking good, Mako," She says, pulling from my neck, and I open my eyes without realizing they've been good, and all I see before Korra slams her lips onto mine is hooded lids, and flowing brown hair.

She tastes like copper wire, and raspberry sorbet. I feel her tounge along the edges of my lips, and I wish there were more people around us, because then I'd have the force of pressure to stop this kiss. It's just that I don't trust my childish body to control itself.

But, I'm a horny man, with a very attractive girlfriend, so I open my mouth and she moans deep within her chest, and some form of a growl grows out of me, and then all of the sudden the kiss turns sloppy, and heated.

It's all tongue, teeth, and lips, and I don't feel anything besides heated passion. I mean, shit it takes everything that I am to keep my hips from pressing against hers. And she's trying _so, so_ hard to press up against mine but I keep my one hand at her waist to keep her at bay, and the other at her neck to yank her away if I get too carried away.

Her body, I'm so wrapped up in it. Like the heat of the sun, I soak her up in my body and melt her in my bones. I want to become everything that she is. I've never been so obsessed with a woman before, like I am with Korra. I mean, I fucking dream of her, every thought circles around her, all my actions are to keep her closer to me.

I pull her away and breathe deep. She whines in absence, and my body is hard.

"Mako. Not this again," She frowns deeply, and I breathe in and out through my nose, because My heart and my dick are singing an entirely different tune than my head who says; stop, she doesn't know what she wants, her body can't tell the difference from her heart.

And like a bucket of cold fucking water, it presses against my breathing and I feel like I'm going to suffocate. It's her body. I'm older than her by almost four years, and I remember when I was her age. I wanted to fuck every woman I saw.

That's what's happening, and it feels like the world is against my shoulders, and I feel like I want to scream and throw up.

"Mako!" Korra yells. I look at her for the first time in what seems like a long time, and it's like realization just hit my body, my vacant arms, and Korra who is latched onto my like ivy. Her hands are at my face, and she's dragging her fingertips across my cheek.

"Wake up, babe," Her eyes look worried and I try to summon a smile to get her to relax, but it feels like a grimace.

"Let's go home, Korra," I say and push her body away from mine. I swim under the darkness of the water and feel it shackle my ribs, the lower I go. I want to stop breathing.

All the years I spent wishing my Mother hadn't left us, wishing she hadn't lost her mind after my father died — nothing compares to the feeling I have right now. The feeling that love can never exist for a person like me. Either I'm not there emotionally, or I'm too invested like I am now.

I should have kept my distance from Korra. I should have only had fun, and I should only been there for a good time. Because this is the kind of shit that happens when you involve your heart too much, and your body too little.

I know she loves me. I feel it in her face, and the way she's trying to swim after me, and I feel it in the way she catches up with me in ease, and the way she keeps looking to see if I'm alright.

But her body is betraying her, making her believe she wants more than what she needs. And I guess if I was a real man, and not some fucking half-boy I would fuck her and get it over with, 'cause it seems like we both want it.

But she doesn't deserve that.

She deserves candle lit love, so it can cast shadows across her skin. And tiger lilies, and wine so sweet you taste the vine.

I turn upwards and gasp for air.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Mako?" I hear and angry Korra behind me.

"Nothing," I say, and push with my upper arms and get out of the warm spring into the icy hair. I breathe in and out quickly and start to heat my skin to evaporate the water. My skin is burning, burning, and I've never felt so raw before.

"Bullshit. You're such a liar," I hear behind me get out of the water. I want to turn around, see her semi-naked body dripping water, but I don't because I know I can't trust myself.

I throw my clothes on hastily, but button up my jacket slowly, wanting to take my time because I know when I turn around I'll be faced with sad blue eyes. I'm hurting her, I know, but I want her to know she has her options.

There are no more buttons to do, so I turn around and see Korra on Naga — distant and shut from me — I feel rejected, but I know she will thank me.

I'll never be able to thank myself, though.

I hop on Naga, and before I can even wrap my hands around Korra's waist she lurches forward, and I'm forced to grab the riding seat beneath me. These rides I used to love and hate, nothing can compare to the silence and calculating nature of this one.

I want to cry like I used to when I was a child, but instead I just hold on to Naga and watch Korra as she hunches forward, trying to gain momentum, and get home as fast as possible.

We reach the Southern water tribe soon enough, and before Naga can even come to a complete stop, Korra is off and thundering her way into the icy house. I hop off and pat Naga on the side.

"Thanks, girl," I murmur.

I walk slowly into the house, feet dragging, and when I pass Korra's door and hear sobbing. I stop and rest my hands on the rails of the door and feel the weathered, splintered wood against the callused pads of my fingertips, and my body sags forward.

And it's then, in the quiet moment of the afternoon, after a day in the warm spring, with the girl I love, that I realize.

I made the wrong decision.


	3. Revive

Okay, so it's so late right now, but I had to upload this as soon as I could, becasue the suspense was killing me.

Your reviews, like I said, make me write faster. They are the perfect motivation to get me up and writing. Sometimes I just feel like no one likes this story, but that may just be me second-guessing my writing ability, but when I get a review, it's like I just know I was right in uploading this story.

Few things I want to mention: yes, Mako is four years older than Korra. No, this is not an AU. Why did I do this? For the sake of the story (you'll find out why below). Please don't let the age difference keep you from reading this story.

Second, last chapter my autocorrect took every "where" and made it "wear". I'm really OCD about grammar and spelling, but I'm not going to get too fussy about it, just wanted to let y'all know, I noticed it too :)

Enjoy, and review!

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I hate this ceiling. Have I mentioned it before? It's plain color and bare chandelier that reminds me way too much of my girl. I don't care that every thought is surrounding her. So upset that my guilty ass conscious — the least of what I deserve — accompanies it.

I feel like such a dick. She deserves so much more than me. I can barely pay rent, I don't know how to handle my body when I'm around her, and I make her fucking cry. A-list boyfriend right there.

Shit.

The air is cold and icy so I shove my hands in my pockets more. I duck my chin more under my scarf and try to bundle up as much warmth as I can. I warm my palms slightly and close them into fists to retain the heat.

My usual spark, the fire underneath my skin, has been replaced with a cold fire that does nothing to warm my heart. I'm such an idiot. I mean, her body, or her heart, what was speaking to me out there in the spring? My body can't tell the difference, but apparently my now present subconscious can see the whole fucking truth.

I bet Tenzin heard her cry, and I bet Iroh, Asami, and Bolin did too. They probably think I'm more of a jerk than they already did. I wish Korra was here with me, this sad, sad truth.

She needs her space, and I respect that, but I need her like a fucking pulse. I'm suffocating here on this cold mattress. I look across to me where she laid this morning; peaceful in slumber. I wonder what she's thinking right now, I wonder if she's still crying, and I wonder if she'll come sleep with me tonight.

Dusk is settling overtop of us, and it's getting colder as the night goes on, though no matter how many logs I add to the fire, or how any times I breathe out fire through my body, I am cold. It may be the cold front, which is quickly approaching.

I don't know how long I've lain here. It feels endless, the only sign of time passing being the shadows that pour color through the shades. I should probably go to dinner, I should have probably changed clothes, and I should have goddamn apologized, and I should have shut my no good mouth and let her have her way with me.

But I don't want to be just a thing to her; dark, and shrewd. I want to be more than a kiss, more than a body, more than her hormones acting out a scene. I know she's not one to use her words as much as her actions, which is how I realize I made a bad decision. Thinking back on it, this is how she expresses her emotions — maybe her pushing forward on my body was her way of showing how she feels.

I unclench my fists and swing my legs over the side of the bed and press my palms to my eyes. She was just trying to show me how she felt, and I rejected her. I want to go back, and explain how I just don't thinks she's ready, talk about it, discuss it — not leave with my false sense of lost want.

I get up and look in the mirror. I look like shit, but I'm pretty sure there's no turning back, only facing forward, so I straighten my jacket, and my scarf, rub my face like that will make me look less like a homeless man, and turn to walk outside the door.

There's no doubting this. There's no doubt that I should stay hallowed in my room and wait for her to come to me. I am a man, and I need to own up to my mistakes. I reach forward and turn the doorknob, and I feel like a thousand needles are piercing my skin, I'm terrified. What is this was the last straw? What if she wants nothing to do with me?

When I get to Korra's door, I look at all the splinters in the torn wood, and I raise my fist to knock, and I leave it hanging there for a moment. I mean, this is the moment. The one where my expectations can match up to my reality, or they can stray away like leaves in the wind.

Instead of creating endless scenarios, of things that could happen, instead of bitching out like I normally do, I let my fist knock the door lightly.

"I said I don't want to talk about it, Bolin," Korra says, voice thick.

I imagine my little brother coming here, knocking on the same door I am. My little brother who only tried to help, and she rejected him. And here's me. The one who caused all this, and I'm standing here hoping she won't hate me forever.

"It's uh —" Speak, Mako, speak. I clear my throat. "It's me."

I hear something, and I can imagine her spine straightening, and eyes tightening, and I want to vomit I'm so nervous. But when she opens the door, it's not what I'm expecting — fate is doing this too me lately, exceeding my perceptions.

She's sad. Unbearably sad, and it burns my heart knowing I caused this. It's not burning in the way her face usually lights it up with, it's screaming inside knowing I caused this. She isn't meeting my eyes, and she rubs her nose on the sleeve of her blue Water tribe shirt.

"What do you want, Mako?" She croaks.

I want to yell, yell, yell. How could I do this? This strong girl — the light against the dark, the good against the evil — how could I, so full of love for her, weaken her this way? I think of what I want to say to her, and I think of the first thing that comes to mind.

"Can I come inside?" Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it. She turns her face into a scowl, and her bottom lip quivers.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mako," She breathes.

"Please," I say. She doesn't look up. "Korra," I say with gentle force. Her blue eyes snap up and meet mine, and I am a bit taken back by the tears welled up. "Please," I am near a whimper, begging, please, let me in.

She lets her body sag forward slightly, steps backwards, and I slip my body through the crevice she leaves open for me. I step into the small alcove of her room, and realize why she doesn't like this room — the light never hits it, the moon never caresses it.

I turn around after not hearing her footsteps, and I watch her; back against the door, hands twisting in font, a look of unknowing that is foreign on her, like a jacket that doesn't quite fit.

"Korra," I say and stretch my arm forward to motion forward. She shrinks back and I feel the weight of a thousand fucking traditions and betrayals, and I want to cry so much, I've broken her down completely.

"Don't touch me, Mako," She says quietly. I put my arm down and watch her as she somberly walks forward to the other side of the room where her dark window sits. I want to leave and stay all at the same time. This hurts, this cold shoulder.

"Korra I'm — I'm sorry," I say.

I watch her as her lips turn into some twisted half-smile, and I watch as she rubs her upper arms in this chill, and I wish it was me. I wish it were my fingers, palms warm, trailing desire across her skin.

"You know what I feel, Mako?" She asks, and turns her sharp blue eyes to my amber ones and I feel the pressing sensation against my chest again — like my ribs can't hold up against her gaze. I want to respond but she doesn't give me time to.

"I feel stupid," She laughs bitterly, and wipes her eyes against her sleeves. "I put myself out there, and you pushed me away," She heaves out a breath, and my chest burns. I know better than to speak now, so I just stand there and watch the girl I love cry.

"I feel something in me when I'm with you," Her voice is barely above a whisper, and they float on the setting sun air. "More than when I'm with the Spirits, more than when I bend. I feel you all the time, surrounding me," She looks up at me then, and lets out a sob, and then I can't hold my place anymore. Like the stars wanting the light of their moon, something propels me forward, and I wrap my arms around her muscled body.

So alive, and raw, I want to go back and let the day be as carefree as it was supposed to be. Korra, who was meant to be in my arms today, should have been here on different circumstances. I tighten my arms around her, and feel her chest pressed up against mine, and I want to become her heartbeat — to stay here long enough, and let them share the same rhythm.

"I'm sorry, baby," I say, and I feel tears burning my eyes.

"I just wanted to show you how much I love you," She weeps, and I pull her in closer.

"You don't have to show me anything," I say with severity.

"I just wanted to give you what you need."

"I need you, Korra," I say, and breathe slowly to stop my crying. "All I need is you, and the fire we have."

She pulls away from me, and I take my ruined fingertips and brush away her tears from under her eyes, and she smiles small this time, genuinely. It's such a relief, My body relaxes, and I know this is what I needed.

I let my hands travel lower to the base of her back, and splay my palms across the expanse of her skin there. She's here, in my arms, and everything's semi-okay. I lean forward and press my lips against hers, and they taste salty and cracked, and I wish I could take all the pain away.

I open her mouth with my tongue, and then we start our heated dance that we always do. This time though, I'm leaving her in charge. I stop her every time, and today was the last day I dictate how she can use her body.

Her hips push forward up against mine and I feel her desire through her tight pants, and I want to moan, but I don't hold it in, I let it out.

"You're so fucking hot," She whispers against my mouth, and trails her small hands from my shoulders to my hipbones, and I feel her trace the line there through my clothes.

Her mouth detaches itself from mine, and playfully bites my ear and then presses to a tender spot on my neck, and my knees almost buck underneath me, but I keep standing, surprisingly.

"I didn't mean to leave a mark," She whispers against this spot and I open my heavy lidded eyes to an eyebrow-drawn Korra.

"What?" I manage. I can barely see with the lust clouding my vision. I tug us backward to the bed and let myself fall back-first into the soft mattress. Korra giggles, and I want to fall over-and-over again to hear it repeat itself.

"This," She says kissing that spot. I groan out loud. "This mark I made," She says, and I want to laugh loudly, because this crazy girl thinks I have an issue with her leaving _marks_ on me.

"Korra, I'm yours," I say and lower my voice. "I want you to mark me every chance you get," Her eyes go half closed, and then she pulls her knees so they're on either side of my body, and lowers her hips so they brush mine.

I can feel all of her now, pressed up against my dick, and I want to scream, the desire is so much like pain, and I want to cry out.

She curves her back so her breasts press themselves fully against my chest, and I feel everything about her, hard, and soft all at the same time, and I'm lost in this intoxication. She grinds her hips into mine, and it's like, shit, this is too fucking good.

I want to explode, like a little boy, I can't control this want, this need to make love to her like a woman needs a man to. So I lean upwards and capture her lips with mine, and push my hips upwards and press my hard on into her clothed pussy. I hear her gasp and I smile against her lips.

"You've been holding out on me, City Boy," She says hungrily.

"You have no idea babe," I say and buck my hips into hers again, and she moans this time, louder than she ever has, and this male, masculine part of me likes it more than normal.

"Mako," She says, grinding her hips in to mine. "I don't know what is happening," She says, shaking her head and closing her eyes.

"What baby?" I say, and brush upwards than down with my hips.

"Oh," She groans. "I don't — I feel like I'm climbing — I don't —" She circles downwards with her hips and moans outwards.

"You've never come before baby?" I say, and I'm kind of incredulous, but I try not to act like a jerk about it.

"No — I don't — we've never — oh my —" She grinds more and more, and I press up with her, and we have a rhythm now, push and pull.

"Hold on, Korra," I say and grab her hips and then flip her over. She almost laughs again, but it comes out breathy, so it sounds like she doesn't know what is actually going on. "I'm going to touch you," I say and cradle her face. I trail my hand down and cup her breast and she sighs intensely.

"You've been touching me," She points out. I smile, _silly girl_.

"I'm going to touch you here," I say and cup her pussy.

"Fuck — Mako —" I pull upwards with my fingers once and then rub slowly. She grind into my palm, and I can smell her desire and I want to grin broadly. She wants _me, _and desires _me._

"Faster," She pants.

And like my dreams, my thoughts, the idea of giving this girl pleasure for the first time, is leaving my head heavy. I circle once more, and I start to get a rhythm, so I go with it. Then she's panting, moaning, and crying out loud, and I know she's close. So I move faster, and my hips grind themselves into the bed without me telling them too. Just watching her is enough to get me off.

"Oh, Mako — something's — I don't —" Her face clenches itself, almost as if in pain, but more pleasure than anything and then she's bucking wildly into my hand, and withering. "Mako. Mako. _Mako_." She breathes.

"Yeah, babe?" I ask. She smiles slow and delicious, and I want to melt with her right now. But I'm still hard and difficult.

"You're perfect," She slouches downwards and kisses me sloppily on the mouth.

"Ha." I say against her lips. "More like you," I say and kiss her wet mouth. I pull away all to soon and turn to the other side of the bed and stand. I want to feel embarrassed, because I'm all _tent in pants_ and _hard as wood_, but apart of me is telling me it's alright.

"Mind if I use your shower?" I ask. Korra smiles and motions towards the bathroom door with her hand. "Thanks," I say and lean over and kiss her nose. She giggles again, and I commit it to memory.

I get in the bathroom quickly, eager to get back to Korra. I strip off clumsily, and quickly, and I trip a couple of times, but it's okay. I hop in when the water's not even close to warm, and it's kind of shocking, but it's just what I need, so I just brace my hands against the wall and take it.

This sense of accomplishment I feel — I gave my girlfriend her first orgasm. My very hot, very attractive girlfriend. I love her more than the fire I bend, and more than the pro-bending that I worshiped religiously.

I get out of the shower and throw on my pants, and don't bother with a shirt knowing Korra is going to keep me warm with body heat under the blankets. I guess I didn't notice how long I took in the shower, because when I get out, it's dark out and Korra lit a small fire in the fireplace.

I make my way as quietly as I can to the bed and pull the covers down, and put my arm around Korra's waist, and her back is pressed against my torso so perfectly.

"Mako," She murmurs. I nuzzle the back of her neck and smell desire there.

"What?" I whisper. She turns in my arms and pulls slightly away so all I can see is blue eyes and dark lashes.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" She asks, and then my stomach falls, and my chest collapses.

How do answer this fucking question?


	4. Requiem

Okay so, this is probably the last chapter before I start writing/sobbing like a baby. You'll find out why below (I'd put a smiley face, but it'd be highly inappropriate).

Your reviews, this fandom, are the best thing in the world, do you know that? They get me up and writing everyday. They're a constant reminder that I have to make every single chapter perfect for y'all becasue you're worth every word.

Get ready for waterworks, and tell me if y'all are ready for the shit-ton of tears next chapter (I know I'm not).

* * *

"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"That," She says. "_That. _Where'd you learn to do what you just did?"

We're speaking in whispers, but we're probably better off shouting from the mountains, the way my heart is pounding. Like, fuck, fuck, fuck, how do I answer this?

Do I tell her about my first sexual experience, or the first time a girl let me touch her, or how about the first time I actually learned what the I was doing?

Fuck.

"Um — I don't — it just —"

"I won't get mad," She says, and I pull away slightly to look at her, eyes hard, and mouth set. She may not get mad, but she will get disappointed, and I don't want to ruin today more than I have so I turn on my back and stare at the ceiling.

My arm is still helplessly trapped under her torso, and I feel her gaze on me, and I think about how what I can say right now, can affect the whole situation. I mean, it wasn't like one fucking girl taught me how to pleasure a woman. It was a lot of them, one of them being the girl right down the hall with black hair and green eyes.

Not the most beautiful girl in the world right in front of me, with sea eyes, and caramel skin, and mahogany hair. All earthly, and winded like the colors of leaves.

"Korra, I want you to know something," I begin. Ah, hell, here goes nothing. "You are the only one I want to be with, and the only one I see in my future. Okay?" I end it with a question because it's always easier to be rest assured than bewildered.

Korra pulls the covers over her shoulders, and leans her weight against one arm, while the other holds the covers around her chest to keep warm. And I'm jealous of this blanket, you see? All wrapped around her, coiled like a snake, a body restraint made of water tribe thread.

"I just learned over the years," I begin. "It's not, uncommon, you know — growing up on the streets — to learn about, this, stuff," I'm beyond pleased with my answer. I indirectly avoided the question and the response should be good. I smile and turn and face Korra.

Her face is hard to read.

"So, how many girls have you slept with?" She asks, dropping the sheet to play with the frayed edge.

Sometimes I wonder if the spirits are with me. Especially in situations like these, when I make the fucking Avatar modest, and quiet. When I take the loudest girl in the room, and make her quiet, and eyes downcast. I huff out a breath and sit up and cross my arms over my knees.

"Korra," I say. She doesn't look up. "Korra, please look at me," I whisper.

Her eyes look up at me, and she's all eyebrows drawn together, and trembling lip.

"Why are you so worried about this?" I say. I know there is something else bugging her, because she's not angry at me, or shouting or upset. She's timid. And Korra is never fucking timid.

"I just —" She starts to speak then stops, throwing down the sheet and turning her gaze away from me. "I feel like you know so much more than me," Ah, here we go. "I feel like you know all these ways to make me feel good, and I don't have half of the experience that you do," She breathes, and looks at me.

It all makes sense now. This girl, who has known everything her whole life, now knows nothing.

"Korra," I say and open my arms to bring her in. I drag us down under the covers, and smooth her loose hair with my hands. "Honey, you know so much more than I could ever dream of," It's the truth.

"But not about sex!" She harshly whispers against my bare chest. I feel her lips moving over my left pectoral and it's turning me right the fuck on.

"Baby," I laugh. "There's nothing wrong with your innocence. You're a warrior and a fighter. Those are better attributes to have than _knowledge of sex_."

"Mako," She whines. "I just want to be good at this," She states.

"Trust me, Korra," I say. "You're better at this than you think."

I mean, is my fucking hard on enough consolation?

"No, Mako," She whispers pulling away from my chest. My hands move involuntary to her hair that frames her face, beautiful and down, and I run my fingertips over the silky threads.

"I just want to do the same for you," Her eyes are wide and blue, like the ocean that surrounds this icy tribe. "You made me feel so good, and you had to go to the _shower_, to feel like I did," She whispers harshly, eyes tight.

"I don't mind," I say.

"Of course you don't," She says. "You're way to selfless for you own good."

"I don't think I've every been called selfless, but I'll take it," I say and half-smile.

"You are," She says pulling herself closer in my arms. I tug us gently into the mattress, and under the covers, and I pray that she's over this self thought.

"You're just, perfect, Mako," She says softly.

And for now, this alright. This idea that I know more than my brilliant girlfriend, more than she could ever know, this is alright. My love for her, although tainted with my past, is the purest thing I know.

We sleep soundly, my dreams filled with brown hair, and beauty marks on tan skin, muscles, and a smile so sweet you cry.

I wake up too soon, not ready to leave the dreams of my girl, but when I open my eyes to the sun peaking through this dark shadowed room, trying to reach Korra's toes which peek though the covers.

I blink my eyes a couple of times, and lean over and brush the hair away from my girl's face. I kiss the cartilage of her ear and when I reach the area where her neck meets her ear, I lightly open my mouth and bite there.

"Mako," She whines. "Stop," Her left arm reaches up slightly to shoo me away. I smile into her skin and press my body flush up against hers. It's like rocks colliding with the earth, and all the blood of dead soldiers flowing in the rivers. Beautiful, and deadly, that is what my body is with hers. Dangerous, because I lose all thought.

"Good morning," I say huskily, and push my hips into her behind.

That felt damn fucking good.

"Is this part of my education?" She asks innocently, and I knows she's awake by the attentiveness in her voice, and I can see the whole fucking game she's playing. She grinds right into me, like a dance, and my eyes roll to the back my head.

"Am I doing this right?" She says. I know she knows what she's doing, my body and my sporadic breathing giving her all the indication she needs to know what she's doing is right.

"No," I say and swallow. "We have to stop," I say and take all the power in the world to grab her hips and still them. I know I started this shit, but I can't have Korra feel my erection through her ass. Like, no, no, and no.

"Why?!" She half screams, and I quickly shush her. "Why?" She whispers angrily, turning around in my hands to face me. I look up at the headboard, and try to calm my breathing, like c'mon Mako. Pull it together.

I'm twenty fucking years old, a pro-bending, and fire-bending celebrity. But this girl, turning me inside out, leaving me raw and exposed — it's like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing you're about to fall, but are waiting for the push. Knowing full well it's going to happen, but can only count the seconds in wait.

"I just —" I look down and meet her angry eyes. "I get carried away," I say, embarrassed.

"You what?" She asks, not understanding. I look down, then because I'm way to mortified.

"I get too carried away when I'm with you," Words are spilling out of me, nervously and awkward. "You're just so beautiful, and your body was _right there_, and you deserve something beautiful and romantic, not a morning fuck."

I lift my eyes then and Korra is hard to read right now. Eyebrows drawn together and mouth in a weird line.

"Please say something," I whisper. She opens her mouth to speak, and then closes it again.

"I love you," She rushes out and crushes her mouth onto mine. "I love you so much, it hurts."

I kiss her hard, mouth wet, and on fire, and I feel my body heat up, the fire building inside me like the falling stars in the sky, and the kiss is sloppy, and morning filled.

I pull away, knowing I'll get overwhelmed and I'll have to cool it, so I stop. I just smile and stare at Korra. Sometimes I think I take for granted her beauty, how her cheekbones are sharp and angled, and how her skin is like toffee.

Her body which screams for freedom, bending that harbors beneath her skin like a wild animal in a cage. She is powerful, and the strongest woman I have ever known, and she's all mine, professing her love to me in this shadowed room.

I love her like the wind loves the leaves, and the tides love the moon. I want to love her until I can't breathe, I don't want to close my eyes, afraid she will disappear like the parents I used to love.

"I love you, Korra," I whisper, and run my fingers tips from her hairline to the nape of her neck. She grabs my hand when it stills, and weaves her fingers through mine.

"I don't want this to be a secret anymore," She says. "I don't want to hide in our rooms and leave before the sun," Her voice is sincere and strong, and I wish I was as beautiful as she is.

"I want everyone to know your mine," She whispers and kisses the corner of my mouth. I nod my head, because this, wanting everyone to know she is mine, is something I can relate to.

"The elders won't approve," I say.

"I know. But, I have never listened, so what does it matter?" She asks this, but it comes forth as a statement.

"I don't want your Father to get upset," I say, and Korra rolls her eyes. "And Tenzin, and your Mom," I could keep adding to the list but I don't.

"Asami and Iroh do it," She points out. Now it's my turn to roll my eyes.

"Do either of them look like the Avatar?" I ask with a smile. She groans and flops down on the mattress. Her mouth is turned upwards in a half-snarl, and I kiss it, trying to make it beautiful again. I kiss across her sharp jaw, and kiss across her neck.

"I just want to move in with my boyfriend, and want people to know we're together."

"Yes," I agree, lips against her skin.

"I'm just — I don't know — proud of you? I mean, you're mine, and I want everyone to know it," I still my lips and pull away to look at her, eyes on fire, and passion blue.

"All of your fan girls, and Asami. I want everyone to know _I _have you," Her words are tumbling out of her, like an avalanche, and I pull away completely to look at her. "I want every girl you've ever been with to know that your mine now."

I never thought twice about having a bunch of sex when I was growing up, because it felt good, and right, but now — the way it's tangling and messing with my girl's mind — I hate it.

I want to go back, tell my self _stop, stop, stop, something good is coming your way, wait, _but I can't. I can only frown, and watch the conflict on Korra's face. How she feels inexperienced, awkward, and alone. I mean, I had no idea my body could react to a woman this way. Okay, I slept around, but that number's out of the window when it comes to Korra. This is a whole new fucking experience.

"Maybe we should mention it," I suggest. "Start slowly, and ease the elders into it. Your mentors too, we can't forget them," She nods and closes her eyes. She smiles then, small, and glowing.

"I love you," She says.

"Me —" I start and then interrupted.

"Korra!" It's Tenzin, and by the sound of his feet, is rapidly approaching.

"Oh, Shit," I breathe. "Get up, get up!" I say and scramble to find my real pants. Like, where the fuck are those things? It's not like this room is big. And a shirt? What is that?

"Korra! We need you fast!" The door busts open with a force, and Tenzin enters the room with Korra tying on her day shirt, and me tying to pull on my pants. His eyes narrow angrily. But there's something about them, hurt and distraught.

"Get dressed," He says, too calm to relax me. I step forward to explain.

"Tenzin, we —" He holds up a hand to stop me, and I shut my mouth. He breathes in cold air, and closes his eyes for a moment before he opens them again. Korra and I don't move.

"Get dressed, and head to the healer's," He says, voice shaking. I have never seen this, a monk in distress, a usually collected, strong man, upset.

"Lady Katara — my Mom — she," He stops and breathes. "She is losing this battle."

"I thought the Healer told us we had until the cold front," Korra says, drained.

"That's what I thought as well," Tenzin replies. "But my Mother — she gave herself today," He opens his eyes. "She told us —" He breaks off eye contact and looks to the wall to his left.

"She's letting today be her last day," Korra breathes in quickly, and I turn to look over at her to make sure she's okay.

She's not.

"She can't do this!" Korra yells. "She means too much! She has the world, and you, and the grandkids!" I make a move to go over her, my heart aching, but Tenzin gives me a look that keeps me in my place.

"I understand," He says. "But for now, she needs the Avatar. For everything she has done in this world, and in her next life, she needs an easy passing." He turns to leave and stares pointedly at me.

"Get dressed," He says harshly. "We will be waiting for you," Those are his final words and I take them with no protest. He slams the door behind him, and then I realize, he never suspected anything.

But that's not my worry right now, it's the way Korra's crying, hard and lost.

"Mako," She breathes. "I can't believe — how can I — I don't know what to do!" She wails, and I rush over to her and press her face against my chest, hating seeing her heartbreak.

"Shh," I whisper. "She needs you, strong, and present," She hiccups, and breathes. "She needs the Avatar."

I feel something in her then, the way her body stops, and gets cold, and then breaks free from my embrace. Her eyes are puffy, lips swollen, and I watch as she pulls on her clothes silently, filled with words we cannot speak.

And when we're done getting dressed, she grabs my hand, and we don't say a word, just walk down the hall, hand and hand, to say goodbye to the woman who changed the world.


	5. Revolutionary

Hi.

Sorry it's taken so long. I had a nine page final term paper on Buddhism and Psychological disorders that I had to write for class, and_it took up all my time_. Not to mention the other two seven page papers I had to write on Hypochondria's patients, and literary revolts.

On a brighter note, I'm not taking Summer calsses, so I should be able to update all Summer. Woot-Woot!

I love you all. Your reviews, to be honest, are the only things that got me through this semester, and the only things that made me keep writing. I'm never leaving this story. Mako and Korra are too much in love for that.

Please review, I mean, if no one reviews, than I guess I'll assume I lost you all and I'll just feel alone. Please tell me if you like this chapter, it was a bitch to write (not because the writing was difficult, but because I had to kill off a major character, and that shit sucks).

Please listen to Florence + The Machine's song "Over The Love" for this chapter :)

* * *

Death is a sneaky fucking bastard. It sneaks up like a fucking cancer, all silent and shit like a coward, and you can't do anything except watch it swallow the person whole and never let them return.

But, this, this determining when death will take you, is something I've never seen before. It's like swallowing a pill too large with no water. Knowing full well your going to choke, but knowing it's necessary.

Katara is doing the most selfless thing she could ever offer the world, and although Korra is hard-eyed and scowling, she doesn't see the sacrifice Katara is making. She's seeing her mentor, her inspiration, pass like a breeze through the trees.

"I don't want you to leave," Korra says, lip trembling.

"You have no choice, child," Katara says with a weathered smile.

Everything is cold and white. Like the hospitals I've been in way too many times, for broken bones, and ribs — but this is a natural snow colored room, and there is a basin of healing water next to the bed, all light blue and glowing.

I look at my girlfriend — more like my soul mate — and I want to inch closer, put my arm around her muscled waist, but the way Tenzin is looking at me, I stay a good five paces away.

Katara is laying on a cot, and she is thinner in her face than the last time I saw her. She is smiling, though, and she keeps closing and opening her eyes, as if seeing someone not there, and all of us at the same time.

"But you — you can't!" Korra says. Tenzin comes from around the cot, around me and puts his arm around Korra's shoulder and puts her face against his chest. I feel like I'm on fire, all hot and shit, but this is a fucking _monk_ I'm jealous over. But it should be _me _who cradles her face, and _me_ reconciles her, but he can offer her something I can't: spirituality.

I have no sense of the reincarnation bullshit Tenzin spiels out. Even though I'm dating the girl of a hundred spirits before her, I don't know how it works, and I certainly don't know how to let Katara pass in peace.

"Korra, come here child," Katara says and lifts a frail hand to beckon her over. Korra leans forward fast and grabs Katara's hand before it falls helplessly to the mattress. Korra drops to her knees, and her body sags forward in sadness and puts her forehead to Katara's neck; breathing her in, one last time.

Katara turns her head and whispers something in her ear, and Korra sobs silently, repressed, and restricted. I watch my love cry sadness, and I want to break something, draw my nails across my skin, draw blood, take this ache from her chest, and make it mine so I can heal it in solitude.

Korra heaves and we all watch the woman with all the power in the world, the strength of three hundred armies in her body, we watch her break helplessly on the floor for a woman who changed her life and everyone's in the world.

The stories they tell, of a young water tribe girl with nothing to look forward to, a girl identifying herself with a bending ability that was restricted. The girl who's courage, and curiosity changed the outcome of the world. Who mothered the last air bending family, and loved like no other.

This girl — her raging spirit, her fire — is flying away from us like a bird in a nest. And Korra knows this, and knows she needs to be the one to ease her away easily, with no pain. She needs to be the one to send this legend away.

Korra pushes herself to her feet, one hand clutching Katara's, the other wiping her face of tears, and she doesn't stand up completely. She hunches over, almost in a bow, but more of a pre-embrace, and takes her hand away from her face and places it over Katara's now shut eyes.

"I promise," She says, voice quaking with sobs. "I swear to you," She says.

Katara breathes.

And then, she's gone.

It's not loud, or hard. It's quiet, and moving, like an organism, living and breathing in the room. I can feel it in the room, and I know everyone else can the way we all stare at the way Korra as she stands up straight and lets Katara's hand drop form hers.

"She's with Aang now," She says, voice barely above a whisper. She looks up at Tenzin, and they share something with their eyes in that moment, an exchange of words and a small smile. She wraps her arms around his waist, and presses herself close, and I watch the way her fingers twist his monk clothing and she doesn't cry — it settles her, this embrace.

"Thank you, Korra," Tenzin says, voice strong.

"You're welcome," Korra says.

I watch them, and when Korra pulls away, they share another look and then separate completely. And her eyes flash towards mine, and I see this power in her, and I can't believe she's _mine. _She walks the few steps towards me, and weaves my fingers through hers.

This is more raw than a hug, more than a whisper of words. This is her anchoring herself to this world with me beside her. This sense that I have a worth now. I'm more than a frebender, I'm more than a brother and an abandoned child in the streets — I am Korra's dependency. I am the person she turns to when she's heartbroken and lost.

It's my job to find her missing pieces, it's my job to hold her to this world, and my job to make sure she's more safe than she feels with all the benders in the world surrounding her.

I would fight a thousand battles, walk through mile high wall of flames — I would do anything for this girl. And it's this staggering truth that she is mine and I am hers, that makes me clench my eyes tight.

Because, goddamn, she's beautiful.

Even now, tear streaked and defeated, she is the most desirable thing I've ever seen. Even now, as Asami comes running out of the adjoining house and rushes to Korra's side, I don't feel half of what I thought I had.

I try to think of a time when I thought Asami was the most beautiful city girl I'd ever seen. Green eyed, and pockets deep as the suns, and how I thought Korra was just too naive to be with me. How I could possible think that she was just a child.

She is more than a whispering thought, more than ignorance. She is the fucking world, and my mom's soft hands, and the first fire that I bended.

"I love you, Korra," I whisper and kiss the shell of her ear. Her hair brushes my face as she turns, and I see her eyes blue as the sky before it rains, and they're red and blotchy from crying. "I'm so proud of you," I push my forehead against hers, and kiss her nose.

Korra hiccups and breathes in three quick gasps before sobbing.

"Don't cry, my love."

"You're just — you're so — Mako, she's gone!" She wails and pulls me forcibly into her embrace and clutches the material at my back, and I wrap my hands around her torso, and she's so tiny, and dainty, and I want to love her until I die.

"Shh, baby. She's with Aang now," I whisper into her neck. I see everyone's feet around us — watching us — and I don't give a fuck. "They're probably laughing now, and watching you, and thanking you," I kiss her neck. "They're finally together again."

She rubs her face into my shoulder, and I love her so much it hurts. This ache in my chest — it's this idea of her potential loss that's killing me. I want so much of her all at once and I can't get enough.

Her body as pressed against mine, and I feel the heat through her jacket on this snowy day. I want to meld her body into mine. All tan skin, and blue colors, I want to mix my red and white and become her into perfection.

"Mako, I don't know what to do," She whimpers.

"It's alright," I say, voice quivering. "You're alright, we're going to be alright," Like some sick fucking mantra I repeat it over and over like some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, hoping it will become truth.

I want to burn everything to the ground. I want to pound something with my fists, tear my knuckles open, make them bleed — anything besides watching my girl cry, anything besides her shuddering body against my chest – distract me, _distract me_.

Nothing happens though. I kiss her hair, her face, clutch her body closer to mine. I want to embrace her in my blood, paint her with pictures of the ancestors, make them see how beautiful she is, and just how unjust this destiny was thrown upon her. But like everything else in my life, I'm worth shit — so incapable of doing anything.

Korra is the strongest thing in this world, and compared to me, I am nothing but a passing glance. I don't know what I can possibly do to make my girl okay again, so I just press my fingertips into her flesh, and hope I'm doing more than I'm worth.

"Korra — I'm — I'm sorry," Bolin says.

I look up and my brothers green eyes are bright against his pale face, and his eyebrows are dark and drawn together like mine. His voice is full of things we don't want to say, but he moves forward to place a soothing hand on Korra's back, and I want to shoo him away with a punch to the face — like no, this is _my _time — but instead I loosen my vice-like grip on Korra's body.

"Don't you leave me, Mako," Korra says, strong. She pulls me closer, oblivious to Bolin and the other tribal members around us. I lean in and feel her ear against my lips, and the stray hairs at her neck brush my face. I fall deeper in love with her scent around me like this — musky, and entirely original — I fall deeper into the desire, the sadness that coats her like a ghost.

"You need to be here for the tribe," I whisper, my breaths warm in this chill.

"I need you to be here for me," She says brokenly.

I grab her shoulders and tilt her chin up with my fingers. Her eyes are a mix of red and blue, like a sea surround by watered blood and I press my forehead against hers. This girl wants me, and no one else. Not Bolin, not Iroh, not Tenzin — me.

This rejection I've had since childhood, it's gone, a thought I once had. I try to remember a time when I felt so alone it felt like my chest was swallowing me whole — but not today.

This girl needs me like I need her.

I kiss her nose and smile as pathetically as I can.

"I'm not leaving," I whisper. She nods and grasps my hand and we face the tribe who are mirror images of Korra — except they're turning to her for guidance.

Korra squeezes my hand.

"Katara is gone," She says, voice strong and delivering. "She is no longer here on this world, but she is in another, and I know —" she breaks. "I know she is with Avatar Aang. And I know — they are looking down on us with smiles on this bleak day. They are admiring the strength of this tribe, and the reverence that you all hold," Her body is pulsating fire.

"I don't doubt that this will impact us all," She says sadly. "But our willpower and our perseverance will prevail, and we will not let this hinder us. We will be the tribe that Katara came from — strong, independent, and free like the wind spirits."

I feel sick now, with my desire kicking up for her, flaming up like a grenade, detonating inside me — I want to kiss her mouth, take all her words and let them swallow me whole and make them into my soul.

The tribe breaks out in to applause, deep and revering. I feel it in my bones, this tribe that came from nothing, and rose to everything. The tribe that stands for freedom and unity and standing up for what's right even when you're told not to — this is Katara's legacy.

Korra presses against the side of my body and squeezes my hand, and pulls me forward, and the people part for her like the sea parting for a prophet, and I'm right there with her, experiencing this.

Everyone is crying, but they are smiling, and I've never seen that before. People so happy to know that their icon is gone, but knowing they are where they belong. We reach the door to our hut, and we open the door, and I close the wooden door behind us, and the people are still cheering, and they're probably embracing, and preparing for tonight's feast.

I turn around and Korra's body is on fire, and it's pressed flush against mine, and her lips are wet and I'm moaning, and it's like flying on the wings of dragon's and staring at the sun for too long.

I grab her hips too roughly for any normal girl, but this is _my _girl — so it's okay. She jumps up into my arms, and all of the sudden I'm supporting her with my forearms, and it's like, fuck, too goddamn good.

Her mouth detaches from mine, and kisses down my neck, and then she's biting that _same fucking spot_, and my knees are quivering so bad, I fall backwards — my back against the wooden door.

"Oh, fuck," I moan.

"You're so perfect, Mako," She says. "I want you to wear me proudly. You're mine, and I want everyone to know that," I nod my head, my pulse racing in my veins — I hear it like a drum.

I will wear her markings like birthmarks, because that's what she is — born for me, made for me, destiny or fate or some fucking deity created her for me — she is everything that I want and everything that I need.

I lean downwards and kiss her mouth, and push up on my weak knees and run awkwardly into my room. _Our_ room. She giggles, and fuck, I want to hear it over and over again.

I lay us unto the bed, and we splay ourselves across the covers — a mess of limbs and clothes and I laugh too. Her cheeks are flush from the sudden temperature change, and I brush my thumb across her cheek, and her eyes turn downcast, and her lashes are full and thick, and I wonder how someone can be so beautiful and not know it.

"You were beautiful today," I say.

"I was blotchy," She says lifting her tear-stained eyes to mine. "I've been crying all day."

"So?" I ask. "You're still beautiful."

"You're too oblivious."

"And you're too modest."

"I want to ask you something, Mako," She whispers.

"Anything," I'd give you the moon and the sun and the stars.

"You're not going to leave me, right?" She says, scared. "You're never going to leave me alone, right?" I'm good at reading in between the words Korra omits. She's never been good at them. _You're not going to leave on this world alone_, she asks. _You're not going to leave me behind_.

"I'm never leaving you Korra."


	6. Radiance

I feel like y'all are expecting a "dog-ate-my-homework" kind of excuse, and I'm sorry but there isn't one.

My laptop fucking died. And when I say died I mean the battery only lasted twenty minutes, and my charger sparked up and caught fire. It was funny, but you can understand why I couldn't plug that shit into my computer.

To be honest, your reviews are the only things that made me still feel like even though I was gone (I mean, when my laptop decided to go six feet under), that this story was still worth updating even after months of absence.

I put a lot of good stuff in this chapter that I think y'all will like, so drop me a review and tell me if this is something worth continuing.

* * *

My fingers are tangled in maroon-brown hair, and my lips are moving against beauty, and I'm so deep into love I can't come back. I'm hot all over, bleeding desire, and my heart is pulsating emotion so hard I'm sure it's about to break free of my ribs.

Korra's hands dance along the hem of my shirt, and I feel her cold hands grab my hips hard, and she pulls my hips to her body, and they brush her waist. I'm pretty sure she can feel my dick all hard and shit, but I can't seem to care because all I can feel are her hands pushing my shirt up my chest.

I detach my hands from her hair and lift my arms over my head so I can let her strip off my clothing. My shirt falls to the floor where it lays with my discarded scarf, jacket and boots. My bare feet are freezing against this cold floor, and I want to get under the covers — I'm so cold, and I push her back against the bed, and Korra makes a noise, and detaches her mouth from mine.

My hands are trailing the strands of her hair as she sits down on the bed. Her hands drift from my chest to my hips, and then she grabs my belt buckle and yanks my body towards hers so I rest between her open legs.

I look down, to where Korra sits on the bed, and I watch as she looks up at me and starts to pull apart the leather from the metal. She leans forward and presses a kiss to the top of my hip, and then trails her tongue down to the top of my pants and bites the sensitive skin there. I'm about to fucking fall down on top of her, but her hands that are pulling apart my jeans sober me up, and I watch as she throws her head back and flips her hair to one side.

It seems so quiet in this room now, all I can seem to hear is the clanking of metal coming undone and the hiss of the zipper and I'm panting so hard — it's all want, heat, desire, and _love, love, love_. Korra takes her hands and pushes my pants down my legs agonizingly slow, and I don't know what to do with my fucking hands — I don't want to grab her hair and force my shit in her mouth, so I decide to rest my hands her shoulders and watch as she looks up with a smirk and licks her lips.

The fuck.

I'm trying to keep it together, and I can't imagine coming undone with a look, but I'm almost there. With one hand she pulls my pants to the floor, and with the other she reaches the waistband of my underwear and pulls one side down.

"Are you—" Breathe. "Are you sure, Korra?" I swallow and open my closed lids, and she smiles up at me and cocks her head to the side.

She doesn't answer me, but she brings her other hand up and pulls my underwear down completely. I step out of my clothes, and I'm completely naked, and I'm cold and hot all at once, so full of longing and heat.

She grabs my hips again and pulls me closer so my dick is practically brushing her lips, and _fuck, fuck, fuck_. Nothing I could have every imagined could have lived up to this. Her one hand grabs the base, and I look down as she looks up me, eyes burning blue, and lashes dark and lush. She kisses the tip, and her lips are so perfect and I groan out something from deep within my throat.

"I've never done this before," She says kissing again with her tongue this time. "Tell me what feels good," I watch as she strokes with one hand, and then her fucking mouth wraps around the top, and she looks up at me, and then she closes her eyes and _fucking moans_. My hands twitch as they try to grab her hair and force my dick deeper into her mouth, but I repress the urge and try to let her get used to this.

She lets go of the hand that was stroking, and instead she palms my balls, and I can't help but move my one hand to rest atop her mahogany hair. I can't take my eyes off of her, she's so fucking hot and I can't believe she's _mine._

Korra hallows her cheeks and then both of her hands grab my things to steady herself, and I'm about to tell her not to do what's she about to do, but I can't get anything out besides a string of curses that would have the ancestors quivering.

She pulls me deep into her mouth, and can almost feel the back of her throat, and I'm shaking so bad this feels too fucking good. Korra pushes back with her hands at my thighs, and with one hand she stokes as she takes in a breath.

"Harder," I grunt out. Her hand wraps around more tightly, and while stroking hard and slow, licks the underside, and then I can't see shit because I close my eyes while she sucks on my balls.

"I want to feel your mouth," I get out. I wonder if she likes this power play I'm doing right now, because I know outside of this room, she controls me. But she's listening to me, because next thing I feel is her mouth pulling me in deep, and her tongue moving around my dick.

I'm so close, I can feel it. My legs are shaking, and I grab the hair at the nape of her neck. I feel the cliff-like feeling again, like I'm going to fall and fly at the same time, and I am panting I am so close I can fucking taste it.

"Korra, baby, I'm close, you gotta —" I try to pull her away, because I'm pretty sure this shit doesn't taste good, and I don't want her to have to deal with that. But her hands wrap around my thighs, and she forces me to stay where I am and she pushes her mouth deeper onto me, and I groan out, and then I fall apart, spilling into her, and baby swallows and pulls back when I'm done.

I can't seem to breathe right, and I can't seem to see anything either besides her soft smile, and she leans forward and presses a kiss to my dick and then pulls back and scooches on the mattress.

She crosses her legs pretzal-style, and I'm still fucking standing there like a fish out of water, and I'm pretty sure my moth is open so I run my fingers through my hair and breathe in through my nose. I stare at the room, same white walls, and same wooden chandlier, and I can still hear the feast going on a few houses down.

My eyes land on Korra, and she's still sitting there, staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Um," Apparently that's all my ape-shit brain can get out, so I drag my hands though my hair again and scrape my fingernails against my scalp.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asks. My eyes sanp up to meet hers, and she looks worried.

"Hell no," I blurt out. "I mean —" Ugh, I'm a fucking moron.

I reach down and grab my pants and slip them on. I crawl onto the bed, and I reach with one hand and rest it against the side of her neck. Baby is worried I can see it in the way she searches aross my face for any dissapoitment.

My thumb brushes the underside of her jaw, and I feel the bone beenth the skin, and I lean forward and kiss softly under her ear, below her hair line.

"You're so perfect, do you know that?" I whisper. "You didn't have to do that for me, you know that, right?"

"I know," She says. I pull away and watch her smile. She looks down, eyelashes brushing her peach ceeks, and looks back up at me. "But I liked it," She says and looks back down and plays with her toes.

Sometimes I wonder what I did to get Korra. I'm a street kid with a reputation, with scars that can tell stories. How I deserved the most beautiful girl in the world, I will never fucking know, but I lean forward and kiss her mouth.

I thought I loved my mom, and I know I love Bolin, and I thought at one point I loved Asami, but everything is balnd and grey compared the love I have for Korra. I love her more than I love the sun, than fire, and more than the love I have for myself.

"I love you so much," I whisper against her lips. "I know I say it too much, but I just want you to know it."

Baby smiles under my lips, and she pulls away, and her small hand capable of bringing grown men to their knees, brushes against the side of my face, and her thumb moves back and forth against the stuble there.

"I know," She says, eyes warm. She looks down at her crossed legs, and looks back up me. "I didn't know what I was doing," She murmurs. "I hoped it felt good."

I want to laugh, I really fucking do, because it felt so goddamn good.

"Trust me. It felt really fucking good.," Korra grins then and throws herself back on the bed, hair splayed behind her, and laughs.

I watch her skin glow with the warm light that comes from the candle chandelier above us, it makes her skin creamy and smooth, and I crawl over top of her and slip one leg in between hers.

"Why are you laughing?" I say with a smile, her giggles infectious.

"I was just worried," She says, opening her eyes to look at me. "I was thinking about it all though dinner."

"Is that why you weren't eating?" I ask, laughing. "I knew something was wrong when you weren't eating two palte fulls," Korra scowls and slaps my chest.

"I don't eat that much," She says mockingly. "I was just worried I'd do something wrong," She says seriously.

"Well, you didn't," I reassure her. I lean down and kiss across her jaw. "It felt really fucking good," I repat against her milky skin. I pull back and lay next to her. Korra twists and faces me, her arm under her head, and smiles.

"I'm glad," She whispers.

"Do you feel better?" I ask. "I know today was tough," I think back to her watery eyes, and heat-wrenching sobs.

"Yeah," She says, biting her lip. "I'm just going to miss her. A lot," Baby's lip starts to quiver, and I watch as emotions flicker across her face, and how she looks at me and breathes deep.

"You were strong today," I say. Korra lets out her breath, and moves her body closer to mine. I sling my arm over her waist, and run my fingers across the small of her back.

"Thank you for being there," I barely hear her, and she kisses my nose.

"I'll always be with you," I say. "Even when you don't want me," she wrinkles her nose, and kisses me again.

"I doubt that," She says softly. "I'll always want you."

It's hard, hearing this. Because everyone in my life besides Bolin has left me. My Dad wasn't supposed to die young, and my Mom wasn't supposed to lose her fucking mind, but she did. Our family wasn't supposed to shun us because we were born out of wedlock, but they did.

I never really imagined myself on the streets betting on fights, and having people bet on me to win them. I never imagined being the caretaker for my little brother, and I never imagined making a carear off my bending.

I never imagined that life would give me a girl as good as Korra. I guess always felt like bad things were just a part of my life, and I guess you could say that it became my norm. Shit happens — go down fighting.

I never imagined that I'd be in love with the Avatar, and I never would have imagined that someone as beautiful as her could love me back.

I pull her body close to mine, and kiss her hairline.

"Do you want to go back to the party?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"I want to go to sleep," She says.

"Tenzin's probably wondering where you are," I point out. Korra pokes my chest with her finger.

"After this morning, it shouldn't surprise him," I laugh and she pokes me again before nuzzling into my chest. "I'm not going to keep this a secret anymore. When we go back to Republic City, we're moving in together," She states this, and I smile even though she can't see it.

"Where will we live?" I ask.

"I can move into your apartment."

"That piece of shit? Uh, no," I shake my head. "Besides, what about Bolin?" I point out.

"Well," She says. "You can move to Air Temple Island with me."

"With Tenzin living a few rooms down? No."

"Do you have any other ideas?" She says mockingly. "I'm all out of them."

"What if we get our own apartment?" I ask. It's quiet for a few moments, and I hear her breathe.

"I'd like that," She finally says.

"We can live close to the coast, so you can see Tenzin for your lessons," I paint a picutre. "Just enough Distance from the hub so Bolin doesn't eat all our food," She laughs. "And I can go to work at the Arena a few blocks down."

"I'd like that a lot," She says again.

I close my eyes and kiss atop her head again, and settle against her body and let the heat from the candles warm me, and I let all the dreams I've ever wanted surround me, and I say a quiet prayer to everything bad that's ever happened to me for leading me to this point in my life.

People always used to tell me shit happens for a reason, and I've never really fucking believed them until Korra entered my life. If my Mom hadn't lost her shit, and if Bolin and I didn't run away, and if I wasn't thrown into fighting at twelve — if all that shit didn't happen, would I still be here talking about moving into an apatment with my girlfriend?

I'd like to say that I would, but I can't help but feel like this is what they mean when they say the universe balances itself out. Someone dies, another is born. I get a rough childhood, and it helps me cherish the good when it comes my way.

Korra is my beginning, my middle, and my end. Moving in with her is the beginning of tomorrow, and I want the sunrise.


	7. Reprehendo

So this chapter happened. And I know it's fucking two in the morning right now, but this is the way my brain works so bear with me.

Classes start in two weeks, so I don't know how these updates are going to play out, but I'm trying to make the next couple of chapters horribly long (I know, I'm sorry).

Your reviews do influence me to put the words on the page. They're the best forms of motivation, and they just remind me that there are people out there like me that want to see Mako and his girl's love written down. Remind me I'm not alone.

* * *

Republic City is my home. It isn't until I've been away from it, and come back to it, that I realize how much I miss it. I miss the smog, the gangs, and the gritty personalities.

The city is all I've ever known. I remember times when our mother would take us to the park, to the grassy fields where she taught me how to bend. I remember those times where the grass would cushion the fall of my body in midair.

It wasn't until I fell on the cobblestone streets and hit the brick buildings in fights that I learned you won't always have a soft fall, and your mom won't always be there to hold your hand while you cry.

It's fall in the city, and there are no leaves on the ground or any sign of changing of colors — all there seems to be is the harsh brush of wind against my face. There is trash littering on the street, and there are people in light jackets, and people hanging around every corner.

The night is cold, and it's chilly, and I shove my hands in my pockets, and keep my head down because if there's one thing you learn quick it's to not make any fucking eye contact for longer than two seconds.

You don't know who you're looking at — sometimes it's the pussy gangs that consist of teenage boys, sometimes it's the motherfucking Agni Kai Triad. You never know, so it's better not to look at all. But I like this though — this feeling of being on an edge, and the constant worry of a fight.

I keep my shoulders back and head down and walk down the street. I've been apartment searching all day. It's a chore, and I didn't know it was going to be this tedious. I just want to move in with my girl and live our life together, but there are so many factors I have to _take into equation_.

Korra can't be too far off the coast because she has to be close enough to attend council meetings. She can't be too close to the hub because the gang violence and protests are near constant there. We can't live in a lower level apartment, because the die-hard equalists can break into the windows, but we can't live in an upper level apartment because those buildings are in the hub of the city.

It's one thing after the other, and Korra is angry, and has just stopped coming to the appointments with the realtors all together. I feel like I'm doing this all alone, and I get upset sometimes, but I know she has the entire council berating her for moving in with me. Korra comes home sometimes in tears, screaming profanities.

They tell her it's _improper to move in with a man who you are not married to_, and _look how well he turned out to parents who weren't married_.

Korra cries and tells me she lunged at a Fire Nation representative one day, and tore the skin on her face until Tenzin yanked her off the woman. When Korra asks if I was disappointed in her, or if I felt bad for the woman who will now wear a scar on her face and a black eye, I said no, but that she doesn't have to defend anything.

Korra gets angry at me for not wanting to say anything, I just feel like there is no point in defending something that is only important to us. I can't change their opinions regardless if we get married or not, so what's the point?

I learned my lesson though when I told her to calm the fuck down — Korra left my apartment, and didn't talk to me until late in the evening the next day. I don't want her to get angry at me but she just overreacts all the time, over shit we can't control.

I turn down the street to the arena, and stride my way up the steps two at a time, because I want to be punching the bag and spewing fire out of my body like the sun. As I near the top of the steps I start unbuttoning my coat. It's warm inside, and I nod my head at Len, the night shift security guard.

"She here?" I ask. Len's face is weathered and worn. I wonder how many one-hit wonder benders he's seen passing through these halls.

"Yes, training room on the right," he nods.

"Thanks man," I shake my jacket off my shoulders and clutch it in my hand and walk into the training room. My white shirt is old and too tight for anything besides being a practice shirt. I kick my shoes off and drop my jacket on top of them, and throw my bag to the side.

My feet are bare on the cushioned floor, and I watch as Korra kicks the punching bag and it shakes on its chains, and she alternates between roundhouse kicks and right hooks.

Her body is rippling with power, muscles clenching and unclenching, the ground almost splitting open, turning itself inside out with hopes of becoming one with this girl. Korra does this routinely — something bad happening, and her coming here to work her body to the extreme.

Some people like to think they know my girl. Some like to say she's unpredictable, and that she does things without thinking. But, they don't know my girl as well as I do though. She's a creature of habit — reacting to things that make no sense to her in the same way she always does — throwing her body into a full force of power.

I walk around her so I stand on the other side of the bag. Korra's face is dripping sweat, her hair sticking to the sides of her neck, and her muscles are tensing. She kicks the bag and sends it reeling in my direction. I sway to my side and let it breeze past me.

"Get the fuck away," She seethes.

I grab the bag before it can reach her arms again, and she pushes it into my chest.

"Back the _fuck_ up," She says again. "Let it go Mako, I'm not dealing with your shit right now."

"What happened?" I ask.

"As if you give a damn," She sneers.

It's like, I don't want to snap at her in anger, you know? Like, I know what she's doing right now is lashing out at me, when she wants to be unleashing a full-fledged street brawl on the council members. Like, my mind knows this, it knows that she doesn't mean this seriously.

But I can't help but harden my eyes at her and press my fingers into the leather of the bag, probably tearing more callous into my hands, and creating more blood blisters than I already have. I am clutching this fucking bag because I don't want to fight my girlfriend, even though I know it'd be more than an even fight.

There are very few people who make me as angry as Korra does. I mean, Bolin pisses me off, and some of our sponsors, and the management of this fucking arena. I mean people frustrate me.

But I never get as angry as I do with Korra.

"What do mean, do I give a damn? Is that one of your inane fucking questions?"

"Oh, don't you even start with me," She spits out, pushing the bag out of the way and pushing my shoulders back. I stumble back, but don't give her the satisfaction of losing my stare.

"I can't tell you shit anymore, I can't even tell you about the things they say about you —"

"Is that what this is about?" I yell out, spreading my arms to the training room. "You fucking defending me, when I keep telling you _don't have to fucking do it_?"

The music she has on is burning my skin, the deep beat trying to bury itself in my veins. Her eyes are hard, and her mouth is firm, her full lips pursed in defiance. I push the bag behind me, and take a step forward to her. She's so fucking predictable — she doesn't move a step. She looks up at me and rolls her shoulders.

"Don't flatter yourself," She sneers. She doesn't turn away because she's looking for a fight. I know she wants a distraction, this sick, twisted fact.

"Oh, it's no matter of _flattery_," I promise her. "I tell you every fucking time to let that shit go, but you're just too fucking _stubborn_."

Her eyes open wide, and her mouth parts slightly, and she intakes a breath. It's a low blow, I know. She gets so upset when people call her pigheaded and stubborn, but her alluding to that fact that I don't care is a jab too. Her reactions aren't noticeable to the naked eye though — I notice these things because I live off breathing, and love her so much my eyes catch _everything_. Korra sobers up quickly though.

"You're such a _motherfucker_!" She screams and slams her hands into my shoulders. I fall back with the strength of the earth at her palms, but I strike a hand onto the floor and drag one leg back and graze the floor. I am pushed twenty feet from her now, and I pull myself up and stare at her.

"I don't have to defend you but I _want to_!" She screams stalking towards me. "You don't even care what they say! You don't care that every _fucking_ time I see them, they want to tell me how you're no _fucking_ good, and how I've lost my _fucking_ mind being with you," She is seething with anger, and I can feel the heat of the fire rolling off her skin, meeting my own.

"And I tell them you're good to me, and that you're not the same boy who was photographed kissing Asami _fucking_ Soto," She reaches me and slams my shoulders again and I swing my leg behind me and drag my torso low against the floor and pull upwards. I stare at her, fifty feet away, and the sun is pouring out of her, heat and fire making my insides twist and burn.

"Fuck that," I spit out and throw my hand to the side and fire uncurls itself from my palm. "Don't you even bring that shit up."

Korra eyes my palm, the heat that I still feel beneath the skin is warm, and her stare ignites something in my body. It's almost like I can't get enough fire out of my body, a motherfucking supernova exploding in my chest. Her eyes drag themselves from my hand to my eyes, and she walks towards me again.

"I just don't see the fucking need to defend our life to these people," I repeat. "We know the truth, who the fuck cares what they think?" Korra is walking towards me, and I watch her shoulders sway with her hips. She doesn't walk like city girls, all swaying with movement. With her it's rough and powerful, like the thunder after the lightening.

Her shirt is tight around her body, arms exposed pouring milky skin, and the hem riding up uncovering body-wrenching muscle. Her pants are cut off at the knee, hugging her thighs like a second skin.

"I care," She says. "I care so much, it fucking _hurts_. I want the world to know you're mine, but it feels like you don't want them to know I'm yours," She stops walking when I move towards her. Korra takes a step back, and stops as she notices it could be interpreted as stepping down from her argument. Her eyes meet mine.

My body is burning from the inside, boiling mercury lacing my veins and arteries, and my eyes see everything in red — like seeing everything through rose tinted glasses. I feel the electricity around me sparking my fingertips and flaring around my body. Everything turns white-hot.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?" I whisper. My hands are pooling with fire, and I'm breathing so deep, I think I'm swallowing my lungs. "Have you not heard anything I've said over this past year? Or are you still holding that fucking grudge of my relationship with Asami?" I stalk towards her, and the red haze makes her eyes pools of black. I drag my hands up and slam my hands downwards and fire pushes itself forward, I can't control it. Korra pulls her arm across the flames, and exposes her bare skin to my eyes.

"Get over yourself," She scoffs. I can see it in the way she turns her head though, her resolve is breaking. The beat of the music slows itself down, and it pounds deep, and resonates in my chest. The lyrics are crooning sultry notes in my ears, and I can't falter my steps.

"Are you wanting to prove something to her? Why is proving it to ourselves not _enough_?" I spit out. I throw fire at her and Korra tears her arm through the embers. "Let this go," I whisper, deadly. "Let this be _enough_."

I throw fire at her and she charges forward and clenches my fists in her tiny hands. I stare at her, all muscled and deadly, and her eyes all torn and dark. I twist my body to the left and throw my leg upwards and break her hands away from mine. I stand back to my height, and watch her.

"We don't need to prove this to anyone," I repeat, watching her angled face quiver. "I want you and me together. I want to love you and have no one have any _fucking_ idea what that feels like," She is shaking, and I am still seething so I force my arms down at my sides, and swallow the burning inferno scratching its way up my esophagus.

"When I have you naked under me," her eyes meet mine, and I watch as the bloody tinted haze around her molts itself of fear. "I'm not thinking of how _dark your skin is_, or how your body is _scattered with scars_, or your _birthmarks_. I'm not thinking about how you _don't have green eyes_, or how you _don't wear makeup_, or how you haven't _slept with anyone before_," I feel the heat slipping through my fingers and I clench my fists and try to keep it inside my body where there seems to be no room. Everything Korra has ever said to me — I throw it back at her.

"I'm not thinking about the girls before you, or the council and their fucking approval," I grab her wrist and I twist my hand around her forearm, and I wonder if she can feel the colliding of stars beneath my palm. "I'm just thinking about where I'm going to put my mouth first."

The space between the earth and the sun is colliding inside my body, and I am simmering with lightening and fire, laced with desire. This toxic concoction swirling in my cadaver, making me heady and smoky, I push my body up against hers and grab the bend of her elbows, and press my thumbs in the veins there.

Her pulse beats its bass in my fingertips, and her heart holds a better tune than this shit she has playing. All sultry, and oozing sex, I push my hips up against hers. Her sweat drenched body, her matted hair, and her muscles that shake with the strain she put them through _—_ _that's_ what makes me push my hips up against hers.

"I'm sorry," She whispers. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Baby's heartbroken repentant. "I didn't mean what I said. I know you care, more than I want you to sometimes," I break free from her gaze, and press my nose to the skin behind her ear, and kiss the spot of skin there.

"I don't give a fuck what people think," I breathe against her skin. With my palms on fire I circle upwards to her shoulders, trail over her collarbones, and dance my fingers across the base of her neck. "I'm yours, and you're mine, and that's enough," Korra shakes her head, and presses a kiss to my neck.

"It's enough, baby," I whisper.

"It's enough," She agrees.

Korra drags her body up against mine, her breasts flush against my chest. Baby opens her mouth and presses a wet, open mouthed kiss to the dip between my shoulder and neck. She knows my fucking spots, and I feel her teeth sink into the thin skin, and I want her to decorate my neck with dirty love.

The music is bass-heavy and the stings start a drop and fall of a crescendo. Korra drags her body up and down on mine, and she detaches her mouth from my neck. She latches her fingers to the hair at the nape of my neck, and I slam my mouth against hers a taste blood on her lips.

Korra braces my shoulders and pushes up with her legs, and her thighs brace themselves against my hips. Our kiss is raunchy — a mix of teeth, tongue, and bare lips. She grinds into my dick, and I pull away and baby makes a noise in the back of her throat.

"Fuck," She breathes against my mouth. "I wanted to be so fucking mad at you," She whisper-groans, hips dropping low and dragging up. "But you threw your fire at me, and I couldn't fucking stop myself."

Baby's breath is warm against my cheeks, and her nose keeps brushing mine as her hips come forward. Her body is slow moving, lingering-craving, and I met her downward brushes with a thrust, and she lets out breath like it's the last one she has.

"I wanted your hands _everywhere_," She moans. I drag my hands from where they're braced on her waist to her muscled thighs, and clench tight. My girl likes it rough, and I know she wants bruises. Baby's twisted like that.

"I wanted your mouth _everywhere_," She secret-whispers, hips loud and obnoxious. "I want your fire all over my body," I thrust up into her, and baby throws her head back, hair tumbling behind her. "Mark me. _Mark me_," She groans.

I drop to my knees, surrendering myself, and my girl doesn't stop her grinding. I push down with one hand on the floor, and brace a palm against her back, my fingertips on fire where her shirt rides up pouring skin. Korra arches her back when I try to lay her on the floor, her body just stays strained in a painful arch.

"Burn me. _Burn me_," She pleads. I exhale a heat-driven breath, and baby sucks it up, keeping it in her lungs like a shotgun. She strains her neck upwards and lets out the carbon-copy breath. I kiss my way down her neck, and across her collarbones.

Korra knows my soft spots — the thin skin across my collarbones, the dip between my shoulder blades — she knows where to kiss me to make me collapse. My girl likes her bites anywhere they're visible. She likes my scripts on her skin, and she likes feeling her bruises the next day — baby's an exhibitionist.

Her hands drag themselves upwards from the sides of my thighs to my lower back. Korra scratches my skin, and I thrust into her heat. My head is hazy-lucid and I drop my head forward, and my hair falls across my eyes. Korra drags her cheek against mine, and I know the stubble across my face is gritty, but baby wants a reminder for later.

"Len's outside," I force myself to say.

"I don't care," She moans and grinds up into my hips. We have so many fucking layers on, and I'm living in a motherfucking inferno.

"I care," I groan. "Let's go home," I painful-whisper. "I want you in my bed," Baby opens her heavy-lidded eyes and they're midnight under a purple fire, and she licks her lips, biting down on her too-heavy pout.

"Promise?" She asks, not stopping her grind.

"I fucking swear," I grit out. Korra squirms out from under me, my hands trail at her sides. I pull up to my knees and watch as she hastily grabs her things, throwing water bottles, towels, and training shoes in her duffle bag. I smile as I watch her shut the music off, and kick the punching bag so it swings to the side of the room into position.

"What are you waiting for?" She demands.

I push upwards with my hands and I know I'm hard, and stringing through my pants, it practically _hurts_, but I walk towards the front and throw my shoes on, and shrug my jacket on my shoulders. I try to adjust myself in my pants, but it's not going to fucking work, so I just grab my own bag and clutch Korra's extended hand.

"I'm going to drive you fucking crazy," Baby says as we walk to the apartment. "I'm going to make you _fucking crawl_."


End file.
